Sid Bacon

Valentine’s Day holds special meaning for me.  On this day, exactly 56 years ago, I was adopted into a very loving family in Salina, Kansas, complete with doting parents and big sister (we won’t mention the dog that never liked me!).  I was about 7 months old at the time.  Thus, I get to have two birthday-like celebrations … a Birthday in July and a “Gotcha Day” in February.  For this Gotcha Day, I’m playing hooky and just hanging out at home …
 

I’ve hit a small bump in my “recovery road” today, but one that won’t keep me down for long!  I experimented a bit with the doses of my anti-nausea medication, and have learned that I need to keep the dosage where it has been, at least for now.  I couldn’t tell if I still needed the medication, or if I was taking it “just in case”.  Now I know.  Fortunately, I’m gaining better insight into what my body is telling me, which only will serve me well down the recovery road. 
 

So, my appetite is not what it was yesterday, but I am confident it will return throughout the day and we will be back on course tomorrow.  In the meantime, Cathy and Laura will have to do their best to keep up with all the tasty treats that keep coming our way!   I’ll be joining them at the table soon!

We’ve sped past yesterday’s bump and are back on track.  Hooray!  I’m eating well again today.  My appetite isn’t quite what it was on Monday, but I’m starting to eye all those sweets that have been rolling in (now, where was it that Cathy and Laura hid those?!), so I’m pretty confident that the appetite will return and I’ll be gaining some serious weight soon. 
 

We can’t thank all of you enough who have visited this site, whether just to stay posted or to post your own notes of encouragement, donate a tribute, or comment on the pictures (BTW, the action photo on the bike was from our Colorado biking trip this past summer – a trip of a lifetime for sure, yet one we plan to make again …).  Please know that your support means a great deal to me and my entire family, more than words can express.
 

I felt well enough today to resume some of my editing duties for theJournal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.  I hate the thought of authors (especially young ones) being delayed because of this illness thing.  I’ll do a little each day that I can … it will be slow, but steady.  This turtle is in it for the distance!  

As I write this, I am waiting to start chemo.  Everything with my exam and blood work looks good, so we'll start soon.  Fortunately, we'll be here long enough for me to get my free lunch!
 

We are making some adjustments today to my anti-nausea regimen, which should help immensely with my appetite and weight gain.  I'm expecting this week to be a great week, though I understand there may be a setback or two on my recovery road.  I've been calling this a marathon, rather than a sprint, as my wonderful, supportive family need to balance their seemingly all-consuming care-giving lives with their personal and professional lives. Last night Laura said it felt more like a mud run ... one of those races where you have obstacles (including mud pits) throughout the course.  I thought that was brilliant.  And she should know, as she, Dan, and Cathy have competed in two such races.  I'd like to consider this the first annual marathon mud run, and I have the right to drag it out as long as I want!

This is an extra post for today, meant to serve as a note of precaution:
 

Yesterday my parents received a phone call from someone claiming to be my son, Dan.  My "son" was allegedly in Niagara Falls for a bachelor's party ... he had caught a cold while on the plane, which is why he sounded different (never mind the accent).  He was calling them because he was in jail and needed money wired to him, and he was calling them and not Cathy and me because I was going through chemo that day, and he didn't want to bother us.  Soon thereafter, our "son's lawyer" called.  My parents were not fooled one bit.  They asked for the lawyer's phone number and said they'd have their lawyer call him back.  The "lawyer" hung up. 
 

I share this not so much as another reason I am so proud of my parents ... I am ... but because we assume that this failed scam was assisted by information on the Caring Bridge web site (our son’s name; a daughter-in-law in our future; my home town; and yesterday as a day of chemo).  I plan to use this wonderful site as I have in the past, and I sincerely hope that you will, too.  But I will be cautious about what personal information I post, and I encourage you to be as well.  And, of course, it is always important to keep our guards up regarding these types of scams.  Good job mom and dad!

Yesterday I received a great picture from friends/colleagues at the University of Minnesota, where I received the best PhD training in the world. Shown in the picture are Bert Schlauch, Neal Viemeister, Peggy Nelson, Magda Wojtczak, and Andrew Oxenham – an incredibly formidable group of auditory scientists.  The picture was taken in Neal’s lab.  Neal was, and always will be, my advisor, and indeed was the only one of the group at Minnesota when I was there.  The others I’ve gladly gotten to know well since then.  I had so many wonderful experiences and learned so much during the 5.5 years I spent in Minneapolis, not least of which was how to walk to school backwards into headstrong winds when the wind-chill factor was -80 degrees (F): Instant ice-cream headache!
 

Today was another good day.  I was a little more fatigued than I expected, though the literature does say to expect to be tired the day of and day after chemo … guess I should pay better attention to all the material I have to read!  I’ve been eating well and resting when needed … so no complaints!
 

The desert in the spring is so magnificent.  Our front and back yards are full of color (green, yellow, red, purple, orange, and pink), from a combination of spontaneous (e.g., wild poppies) as well as intentional plantings.  It is such a joy to be outside to enjoy this time of year.  We even have a hummingbird nest in a small tree just outside one of our back windows.  We get to watch the mother fly in and out and rest on the nest on a regular basis.  Cathy saw two eggs in the nest, so we are hoping for two new hummingbirds in the next week or so.
 

Have a great weekend!